Once Upon A Time
by Starryskys102
Summary: One day, a child climbed the mountain. The child climbed and climbed, higher and higher, until they neared the top of the mountain. The child climbed, determined to leave a past behind.


_Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS._

You think of the goat-like monster king and queen in the legends. Soft, flowing robes with the symbol of the monsters embroidered across the front. You think of the humans from years ago. Always alert and serious. Always prepared to face a threat, carrying a weapon just in case danger arises.

 _One day, war broke out between the two races._

You remember hearing about the war from the village elders. Everyone would sit around the golden flowers to hear the tale. How the monsters were huge, cruel, vicious creatures who had no understanding of mercy. How the poor, weak, defenseless humans were only trying to protect themselves from these terrifying beasts.

 _After a long battle, the humans were victorious._

You recall how the village elders would always end their retelling by stating how the humans had won the impossible battle. Afterwards, everyone would celebrate, and the adults would leave and indulge in food and drink while the children scrambled about playing 'Humans and Monsters'. You sat silently on the side. You were not one for noise, and it wasn't as if the other kids liked you.

 _They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell._

You once had asked the elders during the story tellings why people no longer carried weapons, in case the monsters come back. Everyone laughed at you. The elders called you a silly child, that there was no way the monsters could break the great barrier imprisoning them in the underground. Humanity would be safe from their terror and destruction forever, they said.

 _Many years later… Mt. Ebott, 201X_

You huffed. It didn't matter now, you were leaving. For good. Back then you could hardly get dressed without the help of a parent. But now, you were big enough to take care of yourself. Decently. You were sick of everyone ignoring you and treating you like their scapegoat. Without your parents around to stick up for you, on the rare occasion they would in the past, it also seemed like they thought you were emotionless. It wasn't fair that you had nobody to love you.

They would mock you for not speaking and instead using signs. They said that anyone with a brain would speak instead of flailing their hands about. They didn't understand that you were to scared to speak to them. That your words would tumble out at twist, getting you into trouble. You didn't want trouble. You had to make sure you didn't cause a problem.

You struggled onward up the mountain. You doubted that anyone would realise that you were gone. When they finally did, they would probably celebrate that a burden had been lifted off their shoulders.

Up ahead you spotted a clearing, and an entrance to a cave. You looked out behind you towards the stars and your home. No, you corrected yourself. You had no home, that's why you were doing this. If a home was where the heart is, then maybe you really were emotionless. But it didn't stop you from observing your favorite view of the night overcoming the sky like the tide washing onto the shore. The darkness's black waves and froth of stars always seemed to calm you down and help you focus. You pivoted on your heel and ran out of the cover of the trees and into the cave.

The inside was beautiful, with stalactites that looked like dripping icicles of stone. The floor was covered with an intricate web of vines interlacing with each other. You followed the vines with your eyes from your feet to where they all came from and gazed into a dark pit. You shuffled toward the edge, trying to judge the distance to the bottom. The hole was blacker than the night of a new moon. You inched closer, stretching your neck to try and see to the end of the pit. Bad move.

Your foot snagged on a vine and caught you by surprise. Your weight shifted forward, causing you to tumble into the endless abyss. You decided this was alright, though. This is what you had been planning to do anyways. If the fall to the bottom of the cavern wasn't enough to kill you, the monsters at the bottom surely would. You gazed fondly at your lovely sweater one last time, your favorite pants, and your worn out hiking boots. Then, you closed your eyes and waited for the world to stop. You were content for the first time in a long time. You had finally overcome fear and did what needed to be done. Everyone else would be happy now.

You were at peace.

 **You are filled with DETERMINATION.**


End file.
